Non-refillable bottle.



PATENTED MAY 10, 1904.

J. A. ED'BS. NON-BEFILLABLE BOTTLE.

APPLICATION FILED PBILB, 1904.

N0 MODEL.

well/(Z112 UNITED STATES Patented May 10, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN ALVIN EDES, OF NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO EDWARD A. EDES, OF NEWVPORT, RHODE ISLAND.

NON-REFILLABLE BOTTLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent Kim-759,597, dated May 10, 1904.

Application filed February 3, 1904. Serial No. 191,819. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN ALVIN lines, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newport, county of Newport, State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Non-Refillable Bottles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates particularly to that class of bottles known as non-refillable, and has for its object the provision of simple and inexpensive but wholly efficient IIlGELIlSfOI preventing the fraudulent refilling of bottles and like vessels; and to this end said invention consists in the guard and valve mechanism constructed substantially as hereinafter specified.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein-- Figure 1 is a vertical section through the upper portion of the body of a bottle and its neck constructed in accordance with my invention and likewise a vertical section through the valve and a side elevation of the guard. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the preferred form of guard used, and Fig. 3 is a similar view showing a modification of the guard.

Referring to the drawings, A denotes the body of the bottle, which may be of any desired shape, and the neck B where it connects with the body of the bottle is provided with an inclined inner surface a,which forms the seat for the flexible valve. Above this inclined surface the neck is swelled out annular-1y, forming a chamber a, which is of greater transverse dimensions than any other portion of the neck. The neck above the chamber a is of the usual construction and in the preferred arrangement is provided with an annular depression or recess 6, the function of which will be presently described.

In the bottle-neck B above the flexible valve is located a guard, preferably made of glass and closely fitting the neck at a point sufficientl y below the mouth thereof to permit the use of an ordinary cork or stopper. This guard is made up of a number of disks 0, 0, c and c, which are arranged about the valvestem (Z at short intervals apart and each provided with a plurality of apertures a, set in from the edge of the disk. It is to be noted that the apertures in each disk are arranged out of vertical alinement with those of the ad jacent disks, thus forming irregular or tortuous passages through the guard and effectually preventing the insertion of any instrument whereby the valve might be held oif its seat and at the same time affording a free passage for the liquid. The uppermost disk is made somewhat thicker than the remaining disks of the guard and is provided with an annular recess f, which when the guard is in its proper place within the bottle will register with the recess Z) in the bottleneck. In said recess f is located an outwardly-springing split ring f which when the recesses b and f properly register will spring into the said annular reeess'b, and thereby hold the guard securely in place.

The bottle-valve, heretofore referred to, is made of flexible material, preferably rubber, although thin sheet metal, leather, or the like may be used, and is secured at its center to the lower end of the valve-stem (Z and held thereon by means of a centering star-nut 9, made, preferably,of glass and screwed on the threaded end 9 of the said stem. The outer edges of this star-nut are adapted to bear against the interior of the bottle-neck at a point where it joins the body of the bottle, and thereby serve to center the .valve and keep it in its proper position at all times. The formation of the flexible valve is one of the particular features of the invention, and it will be noted that the said valve is formed with an upward bulge h, which is concentric with its center, and also having a circular flange-section it, which is adapted to rest upon the inclined surface a of the bottle-neck, said surface, as has heretofore been stated, serving as a seat for the valve. The flange-section it of the valve, as will be noted, is formed with its outer edge curved upward, so as to conform to this inclined surface of the valve-seat, thus giving to the valve a downward bulge 7L2 outside of and concentric to the inner bulge h. It is preferably intended that the flexible valve should be coated with a composition that will prevent the said valve from in any way becoming injurious to the contents of the bottle. In the use of my improvements the bottle without the guard and valve in place is filled. The valve and its guard is then secured in the neck, as indicated in Fig. 1, and it will be obvious that if the bottle is inverted the pressure of its contents will unseat the valve and the said contents will enter the chamber a, from whence it will pass through the irregular or tortuous passages of the guard and be discharged from the mouth of the bottle. If, however, any attempt should be made to refill the bottle, it would fail, for the reason that the liquid passing down through the tortuous passages of the guard would at once more firmly hold the valve to its seat, thus preventing the entry of any liquid into the bottle. The guard makes it impossible to tamper with the valve by means of a wire or other pick-lock device, and owing to the peculiar formation of the flexible valve a refilling of the bottle will be elfectually prevented.

Bottles or similar vessels provided with guards such as I have shown and described may be furnished cheaply, and the simple construction of the guard and Valve-stem permit them to be made of a single piece of glass,

porcelain, or similar material, substantially,

as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, which can in no way become injurious to the contents of the bottle.

In all non refillable bottles heretofore known wherein a flexible valve has been used said valve has been made of a perfectly flat piece of rubber or like material, and it has been found that such a valve does not firmly hold its seat, it being possible for a person by shaking the bottle or otherwise to lift the valve from its seat long enough to permit a small quantity of the liquid to pass into the bottle, which operation if repeated over and again would virtually result in the refilling of the said bottle. This difficulty it is one purpose of the present invention to overcome, and I have found that a valve formed in the peculiar manner shown herein will possess much more elasticity and will, except during the discharging of the bottles original contents, always remain firmly upon its seat, and

cientfhowever, to permit the liquid to be dis charged.

In Fig. 3 of the drawings I have shown a modified form ofthe valve-guard. In this form the valve-stem is made separate from the disks and the disks are securely arranged thereon at substantially the same intervals as shown in the other form illustrated in Fig. 2. The stem in this instance may be made of metal or wood, and the disks may be of glass, metal, or any other material, as desired.

Of course I do not limit myself to the details of construction shown and described, as

these will vary, especially in suiting the de- 1. In a non-refillable bottle,the combination of a guard, means for securing the guard to the bottle, and a flexible valve located in the neck of the bottle and below the guard, and having a bulge concentric with its center and a flange-section outside the bulge, the said flange-section adapted to rest on a valve-seat formed in the neck of the bottle.

2. In a non-refillable bottle,the combination of a guard, means for securing the guard to the bottle, and a flexible valve located in the neck of the bottle and below the guard, and having an upward bulge concentric with its center and a downward bulge outside of and concentric with the inner bulge.

3. In anon-refillable bottle,the combination of a guard, means for securing the guard to the bottle, a valve-stem depending from the guard, a valve secured to the lower end of the stem, and a nut for holding the valve in place upon its stem and centering the same within the neck of the bottle.

4. In a non-refillable bottle, the combination of a guard having a peripheral recess, means resting in said recess and engaging the neck of the bottle for holding the guard against displacement, a stem depending from the guard and provided with a threaded lower end, a fluted valve mounted on the lower end of the stem and adapted to rest at its outer edge against the neck of the bottle, and a nut screwed to the lower end of the stem and locking the valve in place thereon.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN ALVIN EDES.

WVitnesses:

LEVI NORBURY, S. H. BROWN. 

